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The Flawed Logic of Trump and the FBI

Back during the campaign days in the summer of 2016, Trump accused Clinton of being crooked because the FBI was investigating her use of email, in particular as it related to classified information being stored on a private server. Trump then said Clinton was not eligible to be president because she was under investigation.

Now Trump found out that the FBI, approximately at the same time, was investigating people in his own campaign for what appeared to be improper connections with a foreign adversary. For that he calls the FBI crooked. In tweets he blames the FBI and Obama for not coming to him and letting him know.

Really?

First, should the FBI, an agency charged with protecting the American people from criminal activity really go to every suspect and warn him that he might be under investigation? At the time, Trump was one of many candidates. He just had some bad apples in his campaign, many of which have meanwhile plead guilty. There was smoke, and now we have proof that there was fire.

Second, what’s the bigger potential crime? Being careless with classified email or purposely colluding with a foreign adversary to subvert the American election system? Regardless of the size of the crime, the FBI did its job properly, investigating both leads.

Third, the FBI, charged with protecting the American people, did exactly what its mission is: to investigate suspicious activity. Trump’s people, his children, his employees, and possibly himself, conducted what now looks like illegal activity. Rather than dealing with the cause of why the FBI was checking into his campaign at the time, he distracts us and points to the FBI as being crooked and conducting illegal activity.